Fallen
by betalight
Summary: This is a story about second chances. So don't just walk away from this summary. Give the story a chance, and you will see.
1. The End of the Tunnel

Chapter One: The End of the Tunnel

I do not own any of the characters in Harry Potter and if there is anything else...well, I don't own that either. I do own my own character, Jaclyn - to the best of my knowledge that is...

It was a Saturday morning. Jaclyn walked slowly through the door and into the kitchen. She cast about for a pan to fry eggs on, working around her older sister who was passed out on the table, an empty beer bottle clutched in her hand. There was only one egg left, and she wanted to eat it before her sister woke up and took it. There was a pan in the sink. Jaclyn swiftly grabbed it up and put it on the charred stove. She lit the burner, cracked the egg, and watched as the egg-white slowly bubbled.

Her sister, Mary, snorted in her sleep to the left and Jaclyn rolled her eyes. Things had been different when Mom was around. She had died last year. Mary was twenty, so she was able to work and keep them from the orphanage, but life was difficult. Jaclyn was only fifteen, and she already had to work every day to bring in money to this place. She had only gotten a job as janitor at the nearby train station by lying about her age. Soon she would have to drop out of school. Mary had dropped out of college, since the household had no money to speak of. There was no electricity here, everything was done by candlelight. The phone line had been cut a few months ago. There was a river behind the house for water, since the public water supply was contaminated and cheap and clean water was hard to come by.

The egg was done. She turned off the stove and ate the egg right off the pan. All the dishes were dirty. As she put the pan into the sink again, she looked around at the forlorn kitchen. The tiles were stained by mud and food, the wallpaper curling off the walls because of the leaky roof nobody had the energy to fix. The only table in the room was wobbly, the fourth leg missing a piece at the bottom. The stove was in a corner next to the rusty sink. There were only two stools at the table now. The third, Mom's stool, had been sold. A lone, dusty little window was opened up next to the ceiling, the ragged lacey curtains swaying in a gentle breeze. Jaclyn sighed. There were only three rooms in the house. The kitchen, the living room, and the bedroom upstairs. Jaclyn slept in the living room, Mary in the bedroom, and the kitchen was neutral ground.

Jaclyn flinched as Mary stirred. Sometimes, when Mary was in a bad mood, she would yell and scream at Jaclyn. She thought it was Jaclyn's fault that Mom died. Jaclyn shuddered away from the memory slowly forming in her head, walking out of the kitchen into the sparse front yard. The grass grew in tiny desert islands, surrounded by oceans of dirt. A rotting wood fence enclosed the front yard, and Main Street roared just outside of the yard's boundaries. The only thing separating them was a sidewalk. She looked at her worn leather watch. Everything around here stunk of fatigue and wear. She was going to be late for work if she didn't go now.

She walked out onto the sidewalk. Suddenly, she stopped, staring at the bird perched on the lamppost. Surely that wasn't...an owl? She walked closer. It was a screech owl. Suddenly the owl lifted off and swooped towards her. She shrieked and covered her head. What if it had rabies or something? Owls didn't come out during the day!

The owl rapidly approached, then swooped back up. Jaclyn straightened slowly. Something hit Jaclyn softly on her head as the owl softly winged away, becoming a speck on the horizon. Jaclyn looked around, and saw a square, thick letter drift slowly towards the dirt. She gasped. The letter looked so nice; she didn't want this to be soiled as well. As she straightened, she examined the envelope. It had her name and address on it. "Strange..." she muttered. Nobody mailed her letters anymore. She slowly opened the letter and a packet fell out. She picked it quickly up off of the ground and began to read it. She stared at the heading. It read _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_.

She read onward, confused. It was an acceptance letter to a magic school. She didn't understand. Magic wasn't even real. Was this some sort of joke? She looked quickly around to see if anybody was watching her, but nobody was. Her sister wouldn't waste her time on a joke as elaborate as this, and Mary didn't have much of a sense of humor anymore. She read onwards. It contained a list of books, which the letter said would arrive at the school for her. She was on scholarship. Jaclyn shook her head. This was probably just a joke. She began to put the packet back in when a ticket fell out of the envelope. It was for a platform called 9 ¾. She snorted, looking at her watch. "Shit!" she muttered. She was late for work again, and Clive, her boss, had threatened to fire her the next time she was late. She stuffed the letter and ticket into her pocket and ran towards the station.

A/N: Hoo-ha, Ho-hum. Boring first chappie is now done! I am really psyched about this story, though. It is soooo good. It just takes a while to start up. And then...well, you'll see.


	2. The Light

Chapter Two: The Light

Jaclyn burst through the double doors leading into the train station, panting heavily. She ran towards the broom closet, so she could look like she was working when Clive made his rounds five minutes after work started. She was more than a half-hour late, but she could at least try. She ran down the platform crowded with businesspeople rushing to their jobs, skidding through a door that read Employees Only. She rushed to the end of the hall where her closet was, with her brooms and cleaning equipment. As she drew nearer, a sense of foreboding filled her. Clive was standing there, looking angry. She tripped to a halt in front of him, an excuse on the tip of her tongue.

"You are a half-hour late, Jaclyn." Clive cut her weak mutters off. "This is the tenth time you have been late this month. I am sorry, but we are going to have to let you go." He turned abruptly and walked away. Jaclyn was left with her mouth still slightly open, staring after him. Mary was not going to like this. She opened the door to her closet slowly as the double doors slammed down the hall and the sound of Clive's shuffling feet faded away. She took her picture of her parents off of the inside door of the closet and slid it into her pocket. She shut the door, and the slamming sound echoed down the hall and back. The glass panes on the double doors rattled as a train zoomed into the station. Then she turned away and walked back down the hall, through the crowds of workers, and back down the sidewalk to the house. She reached the house and stopped.

Mary was walking out of the door. She stopped when she saw Jaclyn at the gate. "Donn chu have work toddayyy?" she said in a hangover induced slur.

Jaclyn fidgeted nervously. "I...I got fired."

"FIRED?!" Mary yelled angrily. She moved swiftly towards a retreating Jaclyn, picking up a rock as she did so. "You little – Get out of here! I don't want to see you ever again! I can't stand how irresponsible you are!"

"B-but Mary-"

"I said GET OUT!" Mary began throwing rocks at Jaclyn in a helpless rage. Jaclyn stumbled backwards as a rock hit her across the cheek, leaving a broken trail of blood. She gaped at Mary, whose bloodshot eyes seemed to pierce through her very soul. Jaclyn whipped around and ran out onto the sidewalk, shocked.

Jaclyn knew that Mary would probably allow her back into the house after a few days, when her temper was cooled off and she had more to drink. But did she really want to continue living such an abusive life? Mary consistently threw Jaclyn out of the house or attacked her whenever the mood struck, and the mood struck a lot more often than once a week. Life had been like a hell since Mary had been forced to carry all the responsibility in the household. The tragedy of their family and the death of their mother had only further burdened Mary's untrained shoulders. Mary used to be such a happy little girl, but now she suffered from alcoholism. It ran in the family on Dad's side.

Jaclyn shivered. She did not want to follow that train of thought any further. She suddenly realized that she was still running. She slowed to a leisurely walk, wondering where she could go. She sighed and stuffed her hands in her pockets. The street, that's where she could go now. Something crinkled in her hand. She grabbed the source of the noise. It was the letter and ticket. She laughed softly to herself. It was a good trick, she had to give the sender that much. She reread the letter. It sounded so authentic. It even gave the specific arrival schedule, which had begun last week and ended in a few days. She looked at the address of the ticket. She could go the station now, and see if she could find this platform, or the people who were playing this trick on her. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. Besides, she wanted to see how far the pranksters had actually gone.

When she reached platform nine and ten, she looked around confusedly. No platform 9 ¾. She snorted at herself. What did she expect? That they would build it just to fool her? That there actually was a school of magic? She shook her head at herself. She knew it was silly, but the letter had been so real, she almost believed it. She sighed and leaned disconsolately against the brick wall. Now what? Where would she live until she could get Mary to take her back? How would she eat? How would she protect herself?

Jaclyn shook her head and closed her eyes, willing all of her worries away. She just didn't want to deal with it now. She relaxed as the creases in her forehead slowly smoothed out. The sound of the station seemed to momentarily cease. Her eyes flew open in shock. The noise grew louder as her eyes opened. She gaped and stared at the sign in front of her. It read: Platform 9 ¾ - Hogwarts Express. She looked around disbelievingly. She must be dreaming. A pale, freckled boy with painfully vivid red hair jostled her and she fell, hitting her head against the wall. Jaclyn winced. Okay, so she wasn't dreaming.

"Ron! You just made that poor girl fall! Aren't you going to apologize, then?" A bossy voice sounded to Jaclyn's right. She looked around and saw a bushy-haired girl carrying a large stack of books berating the bewildered redhead who had bumped into her. Apparently his name was Ron.

"Oh, shut UP, Hermione, I did not make her fall! I didn't even push her that hard." Ron reasoned. Hermione snorted. Just then, a boy with tousled black hair held his hand out to her and helped her to her feet. She scrambled up.

"Don't mind them, they're _always_ arguing. Deep down, though, I just know Ron wishes he could apologize." The boy said with a grin. "That's Ron Weasley, by the way," he pointed to the red haired boy, "and that's Hermione Granger." He pointed to the girl. They were still arguing.

Jaclyn smiled quietly. "They look like an old couple, the way they bicker!" The boy snickered. "Um, anyway, thanks, I'm Jaclyn." She said, holding out her hand. "Jaclyn Murray."

The boy smiled, his vivid green eyes crinkling behind his glasses. "Pleased to meet you, Jaclyn." He hesitated, then continued. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter."

A/N: WOW. That was one long chappie. I just had to write all this stuff, though. And I guess longer is better. Hopefully the quality endures, though. Anyway, I hope y'all liked it! Please review and tell me what you think. I'll be editing these chappies, so don't worry if you see any glaring errors. Just tell me, and I'll make sure it is fixed if it is, indeed, glaring. And what is going on with Jaclyn, Harry, Ron, and Hermione? Well, you'll just have to wait until next time! MUAHAHAHAHA! Ahem. Hem. Anyway, THANK YOU, reviewer, for reviewing. And for telling me what a Mary Sue is. I feel happy now.


	3. Vision

Chapter Three: Vision

Jaclyn smiled at Harry shyly as they both fell silent. Why did he suddenly seem so quiet? She shrugged it off as Harry turned to break Ron and Hermione up. It looked like Hermione was about to slap Ron. She was rolling up her sleeve ominously.

"It was nice meeting you!" He tossed over his shoulder as he walked between the two quarreling friends. Jaclyn snorted amusedly to herself and walked up to the train on the platform. She turned to look at the overhanging clock. There was a half hour until boarding time. She strolled along the platform as the crowd slowly thinned out. All the students were busy crushing their luggage desperately into the compartments. She had no luggage, so she didn't need to rush. She reached the end of the train and looked down the black, damp tunnel. The train obviously went underground to get away from the city so as not to attract attention to itself.

Suddenly, something moved in the shadows. Jaclyn leaned closer, swaying off the edge of the platform and looking over the tracks. Something small was skittering among the wooden rails, squeaking. She squinted, her eyes slowly focusing. It was a pack of – rats! She stumbled backwards in disgust. She disliked wild rats with a passion. They were so, well, filthy. They were plague-carriers, after all. She shuddered and turned away. Pet rats were all right, she didn't mind those. They were actually pretty cute. The huge, gray, patched up sewer rats, on the other hand, were a little repulsive. It didn't help that they had infested her house for two years when she was a child. She still had a scar where one had bit her on the finger. She had only been five, and she had thought they looked so cute. When she reached out to pet one, it had lashed out at her. She had almost died of whatever that rat had been carrying. Nothing against them personally, it was just a reflex of hers to avoid and hate them. She had been forced to get a rather painful series of shots because of that stupid rodent.

The train whistle blew. Jaclyn ran towards the nearest door and slipped in as the train began to shudder into gear. The corridor had many sliding doors, and they were all closed or half opened. She began to walk down, looking in open doors to see if she could find a seat. They were all occupied. When she reached the last compartment, she was desperate. A blonde-haired boy looked at her with a sneer as she looked in. She quickly left and walked back down the hall desperately. Nope, no compartments were free. She saw a door connecting the train car to another. She went through it and entered a kitchen. The place smelled wonderful, like chocolate and candy. A frail old lady was working cheerfully at filling up a cart with sweets. There was food piled up on all the tables.

The lady straightened and saw her. "Ah, there you are, Clarissa! I was worried you wouldn't come!" Her wrinkled face beamed at Jaclyn. In fact, the old lady herself seemed to be beaming strangely, almost glowing.

"Um, I'm not -"

"Of course not, hon." She nodded understandingly at Jaclyn. "Now take this cart around for all the hungry dearies, they must be starving!" Jaclyn opened her mouth, and the lady swooped down and stuffed a chunk of chocolate in her mouth. "Honey, you look so thin. Have this. Now, don't you worry, I'll take care of the rest of the food, you just run along with the cart!"

Jaclyn shrugged and wheeled the cart back to the passenger area of the train. The old lady looked so pleased to see her Clarissa; she didn't want to disillusion the poor woman. Besides, it wasn't like she had anything better to do, except further embarrassing herself while trying to find a seat. She walked down the corridor, asking the people in the compartments if they wanted anything off the cart. By the time she had entered the last car, she had sold a fair amount of candy and was feeling quite pleased with herself. "Ahhh, one more compartment, and then I can go back to finding somewhere to sit." Jaclyn mumbled to herself, pleased. She opened the sliding door and asked cheerily, "Anything off the cart?"

"Jaclyn?" said a vaguely familiar voice. She looked into the compartment. It was Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were staring at her incredulously.

"Um, hi, guys. So, do you want anything to eat?" She looked at them, feeling a little uncomfortable under their stares.

Harry opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. Ron snorted and said, "What Harry means to say is, 'Why, yes, I'll take the whole cart, thank you.'"

Harry frowned and punched Ron in the arm. "No, I don't, Ron. I meant to say what Jaclyn was doing, working the cart." He turned back to Jaclyn. "So why are you doing that, anyway?"

Jaclyn shrugged. "I just had to. This old lady, she practically pushed me and the cart out the door. I think she thought I was someone else."

Hermione snorted. "I hate people who are pushovers. Like you. They're the reason pressing issues like the enslavement of house elves still exist. You and Ron are birds of a feather." Ron yelped and glared at Hermione. Jaclyn looked at Hermione doubtfully.

"Um, okay, I guess I'll take that as a no." Jaclyn said as she began to push the door shut.

"NOOOOOOO!" Ron yowled despairingly. He threw himself at the door and pushed it back open. "I'll have two boxes of chocolate frogs, please." He threw a dirty look at Hermione. "And that git over there apologizes. She hopes you understand what a crazy loon she is about house-elves." Hermione tutted.

"Okay, then." Jaclyn got out the correct amount of chocolate frogs and handed them to Ron carefully. "Here you go. Ten sickles, please."

"Yeah, sure. Go on, then, Harry. Pay up."

Harry blinked. "What are you talking about?"

Ron's ears turned red. Jaclyn noticed and smiled. "Well, we're all going to be eating these, aren't we?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess. All right, then." He paid up.

Hermione giggled. "You realize Ron will eat all of them, don't you? He's such a pig!"

Ron stared in outrage. "I am NOT!" They began to argue. Harry met her eyes and shrugged. There was something sad about him. Jaclyn wondered why he looked so depressed.

She smiled at Harry, shrugged back at him, and closed the door of the compartment on the increasing noise as Ron threw a shoe at Hermione. Hermione shrieked. Jaclyn shook her head as she wheeled the cart away. What a funny group of friends. She had never had such a close circle of friends the way Harry did. She wondered if she would ever get a true friend like that. It probably would never happen. Friendships like that just didn't come naturally to a girl like her.

She reached the kitchen where the sweets had been. The old lady was gone. So was all the food. She shrugged and left the cart where it had been before, then walked back out. A tall, menacing lady was walking down the corridors. "Do any of you know where I might find a Jaclyn Murray?" She asked of a trio of giggling girls. They shook their heads and ran down the corridors.

Jaclyn walked up to the woman. "I'm Jaclyn Murray. Did you need to see me?"

The lady nodded. She was wearing green velvet robes, and looked very imposing. She pushed her glasses back up her nose bridge and brought a large bundle out of a bag she was carrying and handed it to her. "This contains your uniform robes and your school supplies, including your books. There are no replacements, so I expect you'll take very good care of them." She peered through her glasses sternly. Jaclyn nodded. "Good." The lady turned and walked back down the hall, then vanished quite suddenly.

The train began to slow down. Jaclyn looked through her bundle and found her uniform. There were five sets of robes, and one set that looked prettier than the others. She put on one of the standard robes over her clothes and tied her bundle up again. The train drew to a halt and students began pouring out of the compartment doors, chatting happily. They were all wearing robes that looked like hers, except theirs had different badges with pictures of animals on them. They filed slowly out of the train. Jaclyn waited until everyone had left, then slowly walked out.

There was no school anywhere Jaclyn could see. She looked around in confusion. Suddenly she saw Hermione. She rushed over to her. "Hi, Hermione. I was just wondering if you could tell me where I'm supposed to go?"

Hermione looked at Jaclyn. "Well, you're a new student, right?" Jaclyn nodded. "Then you should go with the students over there." She pointed to a crowd of lost-looking kids.

"Thanks, Hermione!" Jaclyn smiled gratefully. Hermione nodded and walked away. Jaclyn headed towards that group. A giant man walked up to them.

"So, all ye new students follow me! I'm Hagrid, an' I'll be takin' ye to yer new home!" Hagrid boomed. They formed a silent line and followed him into the gloom as the sun began to set. They sat four to a boat, Jaclyn sitting with three whispering girls who completely ignored her. The boats seemed to propel themselves. They turned a corner around a mossy bank and the school came into sight.

Everybody gasped, except for Jaclyn. She didn't want to have noise ruin the moment as she stared at the beautiful castle in front of them. The moon had risen behind it, and it glowed behind the building, making the whole thing look like it had jumped out of the pages of a fairy tale. The boats drifted closer and then bumped silently against the shore.

Everybody jumped out of the boats and walked up a grassy slope to two massive double doors. Hagrid stooped down to the brass knocker and hit it against the doors with a resounding crash. The lady who had given Jaclyn her bundle appeared and opened the doors. "Welcome, first years. You will follow me directly to the dining hall; we are running slightly behind schedule. I am Professor McGonagall, and I will be teaching you very soon, I suspect." With that rather brief greeting, Professor McGonagall turned and whisked away down a cavernous hall. The students followed her in a clump, footsteps echoing off the walls.

They reached the double doors which swing open, seemingly unaided. Jaclyn drew in a breath as the dining hall slowly came into sight and they moved up between the tables full of whispering students towards a platform with a lonely stool set upon it. What would happen now?

A/N: Ya, I know, lame ending, but I had to end somewhere before the sorting hat came! Anyway, things get really good next chappie! Good lord, I just babbled on and on, didn't I? Oh well. I just had a lot to say, I guess. Anyway, I know this chapter was probably a bunch of nothing, but I needed to do it, because – what's that a knockin' on ma door? Why, it's the PLOT, my friends, the PLOT!


End file.
